Ernesto Revilla, managing director and head of Latin America economics at Citigroup: “The 7.1 percent annual increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) to Latin America in 2024 is a reminder that Latin America’s fundamentals remain solid, and that the region is ideally positioned at a time of significant trade and geopolitical reconfiguration. Indeed, throughout 2025, growth expectations for Latin America have remained mostly stable while they have been falling elsewhere—a remarkable fact. There are, however, warning signs in the details of FDI figures. In 2024, FDI accounted for 14 percent of total investment in Latin America and 2.8 percent of GDP. In the 2010s, the respective ratios were 17 percent and 3.3 percent. Moreover, an increasing share of FDI consists of reinvested earnings rather than new investment. This phenomenon, particularly acute in Mexico, signals caution from investors rather than full optimism. Global FDI is projected to be flat at around $1.5 trillion (and thus declining as a share of GDP). For…”